So I'll start with the trip to Alabama! On the 6th of June my mom, Kim, Jayson, Elizabeth, and Dashiell flew to Alabama! We arrived in Birmingham that afternoon (but not without a quick stop in Atlanta to get some Popeye's fried chicken!)MMM, Popeye's!

My food.

So then we headed to Mimi's house! Here are some pictures of us just hanging out!

We had some barbeque that I grew up eating each summer when we went to Mimi's. Here's a picture of ol' Beverly's BBQ!

Here's the Piggly Wiggly- the local grocery store which houses some of the best frozen food ever, and of course Sister Shubert's Rolls.... to die for (no, really).

So after a few great days at Mimi's, we got our gang together, plus Mimi and Aunt Sue (my mom's older sister) and headed to Dothan, which is Souther Alabama. And on the way....

View from the road- the Brothers of the Confederacy's flag a' wavin'...

This is one of the classy southern restaurants that are scattered about- here it is in Dothan.

(yep, its called "Po'Folks")

So we arrived in Dothan on Friday afternoon, and that evening we got ready and headed to the rehearsal dinner at this nice golf club (the houses were GORGEOUS- very southern with lots of brick and white pillars and shutters... love it). Here are most of the GREAT-grandchildren, plus some of their parents. Yep- that lady in blue is Elizabeth! There are also 5 kids who match, and 3 of them belong to one fam, 2 to another- and it wasn't planned! I thought that was cute.

Here are some fam! From L-R: Babs, Mimi, Cousin Matthew (Aunt Sue's youngest, and one of my fave cousins- he's a Jazz musician, and he will soon be on my myspace as a friend so heads up for that!), and Bronwynn (Heath's wife, who is Aunt sue's oldest son-- a philosopher who has a book on Post-Modernism coming out in August!).

We had a great time at the dinner, and it was great to hear all the stories about John (my cousin) and Laura (the bride!) from their family and friends.The next day was wedding day! After some breakfast, and shopping, and then some more BBQ (Larry's), we got ready. Here I am with my two handsome nephews!This is my cousin Rachel (who is John's sister, and a bridesmaid) and her husband Cameron (a groomsman) and their new baby Makaiah, and Mimi after the wedding!Here are me, Kim, and Mimi in Laura's backyard at the reception (in 90 degree heat plus southern Alabama humidity... yeah)And voila- the missing generation! Me, my Ma, Kim, and Mimi! TEAR!My Ma and Mimi at the Reception.

My Ma, E and Dashy in the sun!

Me and Ma and the Dizzle.

This is my mom with my Cousin Ashleigh's little girl (Ashleigh is the middle child of Aunt Sue). Her name is Anna Claire- named for my mom (with my name)- so here is the baby girl and her namesake! Also, Mimi is actually Anna Lucille, so the little lady has some strong women attached to her name!

And that was pretty much that! We had a great time in Alabama. The wedding was beautiful and very Southern. Hope you enjoyed the pictures, and now you've seen a small fraction of my extended family!

The new Dixie Chicks album that I bought at the ol' iTunes music store... and I'm loving it, and you can't stop me!

Also...

GOAL is (that foundation I work for...) going to book a band to come to Ogden. We don't have a huge budget, but want it to be a band that people have heard of. So far they've had me check out Cake (already booked), Big Bad Voodoo Daddies (no one loves swing, no one hates it- but they are booked), and Weezer (not booked, hoping to hear back soon). If you have an idea of a band that would be both feesible and reach across genres (which unfortunately rules out country, sorry), let me know!

toasted pita strips make a nice dipable food! :) You can take pitas, wipe them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then sprinkle crushed oregano on them- toast at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes and you have some super good toasty pita pieces!

Ok... that is all! If you have a good recipe you'd like to share, post it in the comments, and if I get enough I'll make another post with them!

Today marks the 5th day in a row I have attempted to post pictures and updates from Alabama and Vegas on my Blog. I have been unable to upload pictures, and therefore refuse to do the update because I want to have the pictures mixed in!